• Preseason Releases: Men, Women | Media Day Recap
The Southern Indiana women's team was picked fourth while the men's teams was tabbed ninth in the 2025-26 OVC Preseason Poll voted on by league head coaches and communications directors.
The predictions were released as part of the OVC Basketball Media Day powered by
Centerpoint Energy, which was held on October 14.
The USI teams head into their fourth season in the OVC as a full-fledged NCAA Division-I member in 2025-26. After completing the reclassification process, USI is now eligible to compete for an NCAA Championship postseason berth.
For the men's team senior guard Trey Thomas and senior guard Ismail Habib were named OVC Players To Watch ahead of the season. Thomas arrives at USI after playing 2024-25 at Bethune-Cookman University. The 2024-25 first-team All-SWAC performer appeared in 33 games, making 29 starts, for the Wildcats, averaging 16.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. Thomas started his collegiate career at Hampton College in 2022-23, playing two seasons for the Pirates. He appeared in 28 games over two seasons, averaging 5.3 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.
Last year the women's team made it second-straight appearance in the WNIT, advancing to the Super 16 and going 23-13 overall (12-8 in the OVC). Senior guard Ali Saunders and junior forward Chloe Gannon were named to the OVC Players to Watch List. Saunders is USI's top returning scorer after finishing third on the team with 10.5 points per game last season, making 32 starts in 34 appearances. Gannon is coming off a strong finish to the 2024-25 campaign, posting 14 points in USI's final game of the season against the University at Buffalo in the WNIT Super Sixteen. As a sophomore last season, Gannon made 33 appearances, averaging 5.2 points and 2.5 boards per outing while shooting over 42 percent overall.
The USI teams will look to be one of eight teams in each gender to qualify for the 2026 OVC Basketball Championships, which will be played March 4-7 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. For more information on the championship,
click here.
BELOW VIDEOS
Head Men's Coach
Stan Gouard
Junior forward
Devin Curtis
Head Women's Coach
Rick Stein
Senior guard
Ali Saunders